Vanya Voynova

Vanya Voynova

Personal information
Born	(1934-10-22)22 October 1934 Sofia, Bulgaria
Died	9 March 1993(1993-03-09) (aged 58) Sofia, Bulgaria
Listed height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Career information
Playing career	1950–1968
Position	Center
Number	8
Career history
1950–1968	WBC Slavia Sofia
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
FIBA Hall of Fame
Medals Representing Bulgaria EuroBasket Women 1954 Yugoslavia 1958 Romania 1960 Bulgaria 1964 Hungary FIBA World Championship for Women 1959 Soviet Union 1964 Peru

Vanya Voynova (Bulgarian: Ваня Войнова; December 27, 1934 – March 9, 1993) was a Bulgarian basketball player. She has played for Slavia Sofia from 1950 to 1968, winning the European Champions' Cup in 1959 and 1963 and Bulgarian league 12 times from 1953 to 1965. With the Bulgaria women's national basketball team, she has won silver in the 1959 World Championship, bronze in the 1964 World Championship, gold in the 1958 European Championship, silver in the 1960 European Championship and 1964 European Championship and bronze in the 1954 European Championship and 1962 European Championship. She has been inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001 and FIBA Hall of Fame in 2007.

National team

Vanya Voynova played for the Bulgarian national women's team for 15 years. Her generation remains a lasting trace in the history of this sport in the country. Many experts believe that this is the most successful generation of the 20th century.

With Voynova on its side, the national team won one gold and one silver, and two bronze medals at the European Championships between 1954 and 1964. At that time, the Soviet team was considered the best on the continent, but the Bulgarians broke their opponents' dominance in 1958. At the 1959 World Cup, Voynova played an essential role in winning the bronze medal, finishing with an average of 13.1 points per game. Five years later, she is on top again, and with her help, Bulgaria won the bronze medal.

• EuroBasket Women 1954
• EuroBasket Women 1958
• EuroBasket Women 1960
• EuroBasket Women 1964
• 1959 FIBA World Championship for Women
• 1964 FIBA World Championship for Women

1952 European Championship for Women

Match	M/A	%	PF	Pts
Bulgaria - Czechoslovakia	7/12	58.3	3	27
Bulgaria - Romania	1/2	50	2	7
Bulgaria - France	3/4	75	0	13
Bulgaria - Italy	3/3	100	4	11
Bulgaria - Poland	9/10	90	2	35

1954 European Championship for Women

Match	M/A	%	PF	Pts
Bulgaria - Czechoslovakia	0	0	0	33
Bulgaria - Denmark	0	0	0	22
Bulgaria - France	0	0	0	14
Bulgaria - Yugoslavia	0	0	0	17
Bulgaria - Hungary	0	0	0	18
Bulgaria - Czechoslovakia	0	0	0	22
Bulgaria - Czechoslovakia	0	0	0	4

1956 European Championship for Women

Match	M/A	%	PF	Pts
Bulgaria - Poland	6/9	66.7	4	24
Bulgaria - Finland	0/0	0	0	0
Bulgaria - Yugoslavia	3/4	75	5	9
Bulgaria - Austria	3/3	100	3	10
Bulgaria - Czechoslovakia	1/2	50	5	9
Bulgaria - Soviet Union	10/11	90.9	3	20
Bulgaria - Czechoslovakia	6/6	100	5	10

1958 European Championship for Women

Match	M/A	%	PF	Pts
Bulgaria - Czechoslovakia	0/1	0	5	2
Bulgaria - Austria	4/4	100	2	14
Bulgaria - France	4/5	80	2	16
Bulgaria - Poland	1/1	100	5	1
Bulgaria - Yugoslavia	6/7	85.7	3	24
Bulgaria - Soviet Union	7/9	77.8	5	19
Bulgaria - Czechoslovakia	4/6	66.7	5	22

External links

• FIBA Hall of Fame page on Voynova